HAVING treated upon that relative
change, which takes place in the state of God's people in justification
and adoption, I now proceed to consider, that real change which is begun
in sanctification and made perfect in glory. This real change is
absolutely requisite. For though Christ is proclaimed in the gospel, as
entirely free for the sinner; and though we are considered as ungodly,
when the obedience of the righteous Jesus is imputed to us for our
justification before God; yet, before we can enter the mansions of
immortal purity, we must be sanctified. Christ, indeed, finds his people
entirely destitute of holiness, and of every desire after it; but he
does not leave them in that state. He produces in them a sincere love to
God, and a real pleasure in his ways. Hence they are called an holy
nation. As holiness is the health of the soul, and the beauty of a
rational nature; as it is the brightest ornament of the church of God,
and essential to true blessedness; so, in a treatise on reigning grace,
it must by no means be overlooked; for we may assure ourselves that
grace reigns in it.

The vast importance of sanctification,
and the rank it holds in the dispensation of grace, appear from hence.
It is the end of our eternal election ? a capital promise and a
distinguished blessing, of the covenant of grace; a precious fruit of
redemption by the blood of Jesus; the design of God in regeneration; the
primary intention of justification; the scope of adoption, and
absolutely necessary to glorification. So that in the sanctification of
a sinner, the great design of all the divine operations, respecting that
most glorious of all works, REDEMPTION, are united.

Sanctification, therefore, may be
justly denominated a capital part of our salvation, and is much more
properly so termed, than a condition of it. For, to be delivered
from that bondage to sin and Satan, under which we all naturally lie,
and to be renewed after the image of God, must certainly be esteemed a
great deliverance and a valuable blessing. Now, in the enjoyment of that
deliverance, and in the participation of this blessing, consist the very
essence of sanctification. Hence the word is used to signify, That
word of Divine grace by which those that are called and justified are
renewed after the image of God. The effect of this glorious work is
true holiness: or a conformity to the moral perfections of the Deity. In
other words, love to God, and delight in him as the chief Good. The
end of the commandment is love, out of a pure heart. So to love the
Supreme Being, is directly contrary to the bias of corrupt nature. For
as natural depravity consists in our aversion to God, which manifests
itself in ten thousand various ways; so the essence of true holiness
consists in love to God. This heavenly affection is the fruitful source
of all obedience to Him, and of all delight in Him, both here and
hereafter. Nor is it only the true source of all our obedience; for it
is also the sum and perfection of holiness. Because all acceptable
duties naturally flow from love to God; nor are they any thing else but
the necessary expressions of that divine principle.

Though justification and
sanctification are both them blessings of grace, and though they are
absolutely inseparable; yet they are so manifestly distinct, that there
is in various respects a wide difference between them. This distinction
may be thus expressed. Justification respects the person in a legal
sense, is a single act of grace, and terminates in a relative change;
that is, a freedom from punishment, and a right to life. Sanctification
regards him in a physical sense, is a continued work of grace, and
terminates in a real change, as to the quality both of habits and
actions. The former is by a righteousness without us; the latter is by
holiness wrought in us. That precedes, as a cause; this follows, as an
effect. Justification is by Christ as a priest, and has regard to the
guilt of sin; sanctification is by him as a king, and refers to its
dominion. The former annuls its damning power; the latter its reigning
power. Justification is instantaneous and complete, in all its real
subjects; but sanctification is progressive, and perfecting by degrees.

The persons on whom the blessing of
sanctification is bestowed, are those that are justified, and in a state
of acceptance with God. For concerning them it is written, and it is the
language of reigning grace; I will put my laws into their mind, and
write them in their hearts. The blessing here designed, and the
favour here promised, are, that love to God, and that delight in his law
and ways, which are implanted in the hearts of all the regenerate;
constantly inclining them to obey the whole revealed will of God, so far
as they are acquainted with it. Sanctification is a new covenant
blessing; and in that gracious constitution it is promised as a choice
privilege, not required as an entitling condition.

Those happy souls who possess the
invaluable blessing, and are delivered from the dominion of sin, are
not under the law; neither seeking justification by it, nor
obnoxious to its curse; but under grace; are completely justified
by the free favour of God, and live under its powerful influence. This
text strongly implies, that all who are under the law, as a covenant, or
are seeking acceptance with the eternal Judge by their own duties, are
under the dominion of sin; whatever their character may be among men, or
however high their pretences may be to holiness. And as those that are
under the law have no holiness, they can perform no acceptable
obedience. For they that are in the flesh, in their carnal,
unregenerate state cannot please God. Every one that is under the
law, is condemned by it; and while his person is accursed, his duties
cannot be accepted. A man's person must be accepted with God, before his
works can be pleasing to him.

To set the subject in a clearer light,
it may be of use to consider, that to constitute a work truly good, it
must be done from a right principle, performed by a right rule, and
intended for a right end. It must be done from a right principle.
This is the love of God. The great command of the unchangeable law is,
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God. Whatever work is done from any
other principle, however it may be applauded by men, it is not
acceptable in the sight of Him who searches the heart. For by Him
principles, as well as actions, are weighed. It must be performed
by a right rule. This is the revealed will of God. His will is
the rule of righteousness. The moral law, in particular, is the rule of
our obedience.*

* See my Death of Legal Hope, the Life of
Evangelical Obedience, sect. vii. where this subject is professedly
discussed, in opposition to the Antinomians.

It is a complete system of duty; and
considered as moral, is immutably the rule of our conduct. However
chargeable therefore any work may be to him that performs it; or however
diligent he may be in its performance; yet, if it be nowhere commanded
by the authority of Heaven, it stands condemned by that Divine query;
Who hath required this at your hands? And though it be pretended
that the love of God is the principle, and the glory of God the end, as
the dupes of superstition, both ancient and modern, have generally done;
yet being nowhere enjoined in our only rule of faith and practice, it is
no better than reprobate silver, and will certainly be rejected
of God. So that, however highly the performer may please himself, or
gratify his own pride by the deed, he cannot be commended for his
obedience. For where there is no command, explicit or implied, there can
he no obedience; consequently no good work. It must be intended for a
right end. That is, the glory of the Supreme Being. Whatsoever ye do,
do all to the glory of God, is the peremptory command of the Most
High. And as this is the end for which Jehovah himself acts, in all his
works, both of providence and grace, so it is the highest end at which
we can possibly aim. No man, however, can act for so sublime an end, but
he that is taught of God, and fully persuaded that justification is
entirely by grace; in such a sense by grace, as to be detached from all
works dependent on no conditions to be performed by him. For till then
he cannot but refer his supposed good actions principally to self, and
his own acceptance with God. This is the highest end for which such a
person can possibly act, though other and baser ends are often proposed
by him. But those works that are truly good, and which the Holy Spirit
calls the fruits of righteousness, are, in the design of their
performer, as well as in the issue, to the glory and praise of God.
Now, though an unregenerate man may do those things which are
materially good, and by a right rule; yet none that are ignorant of the
gospel of Divine grace can act from that generous principle and for that
exalted end, which are absolutely necessary to constitute a good work.

To confirm the argument, and to
illustrate the point, I would observe, that man is a fallen creature;
entirely destitute of the holy image and love of God. So far from loving
his Maker, or delighting in his ways, he is an enemy to him. The
language of an unregenerate man's heart and conduct, is that of those
profane wretches in the book of Job, who say to God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy
ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit
should we have, if we pray unto him?*

* Job xxi. 14, 15. I humbly conceive that the
unregenerate man's habitual forgetfulness of God, the uneasiness he
feels when the thoughts of his Maker and Judge dart into his mind, and
his endeavours to ex-elude them as unwelcome intruders-his passion for
sinful pleasures, end his love to present enjoyments-the enmity he has
to the people of God?and his aversion to serious, religious, heavenly
conversation?end, finally, the treatment with which the gospel meets
in his breast, even the gospel of saving grace, that brightest mirror
of the Divine perfections; are evidences of this humbling truth, and
fully prove the opprobrious charge. Is not this striking proof; that a
Divine power, sad invincible agency, is necessary to regenerate the
soul and convert the heart?

Neither the commands of the Divine
law, though the strictest and purest imaginable, nor all the vengeance
threatened against disobedience to those commands, can work in our
hearts the least degree of love to God, the lawgiver: nor, considering
ourselves as apostate creatures and under the curse, is it in the nature
of things possible. For the more pure its precepts are, so much the more
contrary to the bias of corrupted nature: and it is evident, that its
awful sanction cannot be approved by a person obnoxious to its
condemning power. Consequently, the Divine Lawgiver can have no share in
our affections, while we continue in this deplorable condition.

Fallen man therefore cannot love God,
but as he is revealed in a Mediator. He must behold his Maker's glory in
the face of Jesus Christ, before he can love him, or have the least
desire to promote his glory. Now, as there is no revelation of the glory
of God in Christ, but by the gospel, and as we cannot behold it but by
faith, it necessarily follows, that no man can unfeignedly love God, or
sincerely desire to glorify him, while ignorant of the truth. But as
there is the brightest display of all the Divine perfections in Jesus
Christ, and as the gospel reveals him in his glory and beauty; so,
through the sacred influence of the Holy Spirit, sinners behold the
infinite amiableness and transcendent glory of God, in the person and
work of Immanuel. The gospel being a declaration of that perfect
forgiveness which is with God, and of that wonderful salvation which is
by Christ, which are full, free and everlasting; by whomsoever the
gospel is believed, peace of conscience and the love of God are in some
de-glee enjoyed. While in proportion to the believer's views of the
Divine glory revealed in Jesus, and his experience of Divine love shed
abroad in the heart, will be his returns of affection and gratitude to
God as an infinitely amiable Being, considered in himself; as
inconceivably gracious, to needy, guilty, unworthy creatures. His
language will be, What shall I render to the Lord for all his
benefits? Bless the Lord, O my soul! and all that it within me, bless
his holy name! Being born from above, he delights in the law of
God, after the inward man; and is habitually desirous of being more
and more conformed to it, as it is a transcript of the Divine purity,
and a revelation of the Divine will. Now he is furnished with that
generous principle of action, love to God. The obedience he now
performs, and that which God accepts, is ? not the service of a mere
mercenary, in order to gain a title to life, as a reward for his work;
much less of a slave, that is driven to it by the goad of terror ? but
the obedience of a child, or of a spouse; of one who regards the divine
commands as coming from a father, or from an husband. Being dead to the law, he lives to God.

I said, being dead to the law.
This is the case of none but those that are poor in spirit, and have
received the atonement in the blood of Christ; those who rely on his
work alone, as completely sufficient to procure their acceptance with
God, and as perfectly satisfying an awakened conscience, respecting that
important affair. So the apostle; Ye are become dead to the law by
the body of Christ ? We are delivered from the law, that being dead
wherein we were held. In these remarkable words, the believer is
described as being dead to the law, and the law as dead to him. By which
are signified, that the law has no more power over a believer to exact
obedience, as the condition of life, or to threaten vengeance against
him, in case of disobedience, than a deceased husband has to demand
obedience from a living wife; or, on account of disobedience, to
threaten her with punishment ? That the real Christian, being dead to
the law, has no more expectation of justification by his own obedience
to it, than a living wife has of assistance from a dead husband ? And
that, as she can have no expectation of receiving any benefit from him,
he being dead; so she cannot rationally have any fears of suffering evil
at his hand.

But though the law, as a covenant,
ceases to have any demands on them that are in Christ Jesus; yet,
as a rule of conduct, and as in the hand of Christ, it is of great
utility to believers, and to the most advanced saint Nor, thus
considered, is it possible that it should be deprived of its authority,
or lose its use. For it is no other than the rule of that obedience
which the nature of God and man, and the relation subsisting between
them, render necessary. To imagine the law vacated, in this respect, is
to suppose that relation to cease, which has ever subsisted, and cannot
but subsist, between the great Sovereign and his dependent creatures,
who are the subjects of his moral government. Nor, thus considered, are
its commands burdensome, or its yoke galling to the real Christian. He
approves of it; he delights in it, after the inward man. For, as
a friend and a guide, it points out the way in which he is to manifest
his thankfulness to God for all his favours; and the new disposition he
received in regeneration, from his Law-fulfiller, inclines him to pay it
the most sincere and uninterrupted regards. The obedience he now
performs is in newness of spirit, and not in
the oldness of the letter.

Should any pretenders to holiness, the
genuine offspring of the ancient Pharisees, object, that by faith we
make void the law, our answer is ready: God forbid! Yea,
rather, we establish the law, both by the doctrine and the
principle of faith. By the doctrine of faith. Because we teach,
that there is no salvation for any of the children of men, without a
perfect fulfilment of all its righteous demands. This, though impossible
to a fallen, enfeebled creature, was punctually performed by Messiah,
the surety; which, being placed to the account of a believing sinner,
renders him completely righteous. Thus the law, so far from being made
void, is honoured ? is magnified, and that to the highest degree. The
obedience performed to the perceptive part of the law, by a Divine
Redeemer, and the sufferings of an incarnate God on the cross, in
conformity to its penal sanction, more highly honour it than all the
obedience which an absolutely innocent race of creatures could ever have
yielded; than all the sufferings, which the many millions of the damned
can endure to eternity. By the principle of faith. For as it
purities the heart from an evil conscience, through the application of
atoning blood; so it works by love ? love to God, his people, and his
cause, in some degree conformable to the law, as the rule of
righteousness. Hence it is that those who believe, are said to be
sanctified by that faith which is in Jesus. If any one therefore,
pretend to believe in Christ, to love his name, and to enjoy communion
with him, who does not pay an habitual regard to his commands; he is
a liar, and the truth is not him. For our Lord says, If a man
love me, he will keep my words. He informs us also, that the reason
why any one does not keep his sayings, is because he does not
love Him, whatever he may profess to the contrary. That is no love,
which is not productive of obedience; nor is that worthy the name of
obedience, which springs not from love. Pretensions to love, without
obedience, are glaring hypocrisy; and obedience, without love, is mere
slavery.

The great and heavenly blessing of
sanctification is the fruit of our union with Christ. In virtue of that
union which subsists between Christ as the head, and the church as his
mystical body, the chosen of God become subjects of regenerating grace,
and are possessed of the Holy Spirit. According to those emphatical and
instructive words: Without me, without vital union with me,
similar to that of a living branch to a flourishing vine, ye can do
nothing that is truly good?and acceptable in the sight of God. It is
by the Spirit of truth and the word of grace, that any sinner is, or can
be sanctified. As it is written, Ye have purified your souls in
obeying the truth through the Spirit. Hence we read, of the
sanctification of the Spirit; of the holiness of truth; and,
of being sanctified by the truth. ( I Pet. 1:2. 2 Thess. 2:13.
Eph. 4:24. John 17:19) By comparing these passages together, it is
evident that the Divine Spirit employs evangelical truth as the
appointed instrument, in producing that holiness in the heart and life
of a Christian, which is included in the blessing, and signified by the
term, sanctification. For this reason it is that our great intercessor
prays, Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth: and
asserts, Ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
(John 17:17, and 15:3)

The truth of the gospel is that mirror
in which we behold the gracious designs of God respecting us; the
all-sufficiency of Christ, and his finished work wrought out for the
guilty. Beholding, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord; we are
changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit
of the Lord. As the countenance of Moses, after his familiar
converse with Jehovah, shone with such dazzling radiance that the chosen
tribes could not steadily behold it; so the believer, viewing the King
of glory in his matchless beauty, derives a likeness to the glorious
object of his views and his love. For the more frequently he beholds
Him, the more fully he knows his perfections, of which his holiness is
the ornament. The more he knows them, the more ardently he loves them.
The more he loves them, the more he desires a conformity to them; for
love aspires after a likeness to the beloved. The more he loves the
transcendently amiable God, the more frequently, attentively, and
delightfully will he behold him. Thus he obtains, by every fresh view, a
new feature of Jehovah's glorious image. (WITSII CEcun. Faed. 1. iii. c.
xii. Pg. 111.) Hence it appears, that our advances in true holiness will
always keep pace with our views of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ. Or, in other words, that a life of holiness to the honour of
Christ, as our King and our God, will always bear an exact properties to
a life of faith upon him, as our Surety and our Saviour.

As the word of grace is the proper
warrant and ground of faith, the more clear our conceptions are
concerning its truth and certainty, the more firmly shall we confide in
it: consequently, the fruits of holiness will more abundantly adorn our
conversation. For the gospel brings forth fruit in all from that know
it in truth: and it is by the exceeding great and precious
promises contained in it, that we are made partakers of a divine
nature. Hence the gospel is compared, by an infallible author, to a
mould into which melted metals are cast; from which they receive their
form and take their impression. God be thanked that ye were the
servants of sin; but ye have obeyed from the heart that type of
doctrine, into which ye were delivered. (Rom. 6:17) As the gospel of
peace is the doctrine here designed, and as it is according to
godliness; so those that receive impressions from it, must, in
proportion to its heavenly influence, have their tempers and conduct
conformed to the law of God as the rule of righteousness. Thus the truth
becomes effectual, through the agency of the Holy Spirit, to produce
that purity of heart which is the health of the soul; and those good
works which are the only ornament of a Christian profession.

As all the ordinances of grace are
calculated to increase our knowledge and love of Christ; so they are
adapted to promote the work of sanctification. Whether, therefore, they
be those of the closet or of the family; whether public or private; they
ought, by all means, to be conscientiously observed, by all who profess
themselves the disciples of the Holy Jesus. All that attend upon them in
faith, shall certainly find them the happy means of promoting their
knowledge of the true God, their growth in grace, and their advancement
in real holiness.

We may now consider the principal
motives, that are used in the book of God, to stir up the minds of
believers to seek a larger enjoyment of sanctification, and to abound in
every good work. These motives are various, yet all evangelical.
Believers are exhorted to obedience, from the consideration of their
distinguishing characters, as the elect of God and a peculiar people.
(Col. 3:12-14. I Pet. 2:9) The purchase which Christ has made
of his chosen, and the unequalled price which he paid for their
deliverance, afford a charming, a constraining motive, to be holy in all
manner of conversation. The price with which they were bought, being
nothing less than the infinitely precious blood of Jesus, our incarnate
God; a remembrance of it should kindle in their hearts the most fervent
glow of heavenly gratitude, and elevate them to a pitch of seraphic
devotion; and this more especially, when they reflect on that abject
slavery and miserable state, in which they were viewed by the Lord
Redeemer, when he undertook their cause, and gave his very life a ransom
for them. In the sufferings of Christ on the cross we behold his
tenderest compassion to perishing souls, his intense regard to the
rights of his Father's violated law, and the concern he had for the
honour of his Divine government. Considerations these, most happily
calculated to mortify our lusts and quicken our graces; to make us
loathe sin and love the law, as being holy,
just, and good.

Here we see the tenderest compassion
to our perishing souls, expressed in a way superior to all the power of
language; superior to all finite conception. This he expressed ? be
astonished, ye inhabitants of the heavenly world! while all the redeemed
of the Lord are transported with holy wonder, and filled with adoring
gratitude! ? This he expressed in tears and cries, in groans and blood.
Consider Him, O believer, loaded with reproaches by his enemies,
deserted by his friends, and forsaken even by his God. Consider him in
these circumstances of unparalleled wo, and see whether it will not fire
your heart with holy zeal, and arm your hands with an heavenly
resolution, to crucify every lust, to mortify every vile affection. Did
HANNIBAL, by the command of his father, swear at the altar, to maintain
an irreconcilable enmity against the Romans! So should the Christian,
when standing as it were at the foot of the cross, and beholding the
sufferings of his dying Saviour, swear to maintain a perpetual
opposition against every lust and every sin. Here he will form his
firmest resolves, to enter into no alliance, to admit of no truce, with
those enemies of his soul and murderers of his Lord. Such a
consideration, set home by the blessed Spirit, will be instead of a
thousand arguments to persuade, instead of a thousand incentives to
prompt to cheerful obedience. So struck was Paul with a view of this
astonishing love, and the righteous claim which Jesus has to every
heart, that he accounted a want of love to him the highest pitch of
ingratitude and wickedness; and boldly pronounced the state of such to
be accursed to the last degree. (I Cor. 16:22)

Here we behold the Redeemer's love to
his Father's law, and the superlative regard that he had to the honour
of his Divine government. For though he was determined that the rebels
should be saved from deserved destruction; yet, rather than the least
reflection should ever be east on the violated law, as though its
precepts were unreasonable, or its penalty cruel, he himself would obey,
he himself would bleed. By which procedure he declared, in the most
emphatic, al manner, that the law, in its precepts, is entirely holy and
good; and, in its penal sanction, perfectly just. And at the same time
he demonstrated, how justly those who die under its curse are punished
with everlasting destruction. Reflect upon this, believer, and see
whether it will not prove a noble incentive to labour, and strive after
a more perfect conformity to its holy precepts, in all your tempers,
words, and actions; in all that you are, and in all that you do. Then
you will see, that as the Lord, out of love to your soul and in honour
to the law, refused not to die the most infamous death for your
salvation; you are laid under the strongest obligations to love his
name, and reverence the law; to confide in his atonement, and imitate
his example.

When the Christian considers that his
whole person is the object of redeeming love, and the purchase of
Immanuel's blood; when he reflects that the end intended by this
purchase, is, that he should serve the Lord without fear, in holiness
and righteousness all the days of his life; and that he should
live to Him who died for him and rose again: beholding such a
deliverance, by such stupendous means, and for such a glorious end, he
will exclaim with Ezra, on an infinitely less important occasion;
Seeing that thou, our God, hast given us such deliverance as this,
should we again break thy commandments? The heart that is not moved,
by such considerations as these, to love the Redeemer and to glorify his
name, is harder than stone, and colder than ice; is entirely destitute
of every grateful feeling. Were believers more fully acquainted with the
love of a dying Saviour, and the infinite efficacy of his atoning blood;
their dependence on him would be more steady, and their love to him
would be more fervent. And, were this the ease, how patient would they
be under all their afflictions; how thankful in all their enjoyments:
how ardent in all their devotions; how holy in all their conversation;
how useful in all their behaviour! Yea, how peaceful, how joyful, in the
prospect of death and a future world! Then would their lives be happy
indeed. The purchase made by the holy One of God is therefore a noble, a
constraining motive to holiness of life.

Their calling is another
consideration used to the same purpose. As he who hath called you is
holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. The Christian
should often meditate on the nature and excellence of his high, holy,
heavenly calling. Being called by grace, he is translated out of
darkness into marvellous light; and from under the power of darkness,
into the kingdom of God's dear Son. Out of a state of wrath, and of
alienation from God, he is brought into a state of peace, and of
communion with him. Now, the very end of his calling is, that he might
be holy; that he might show forth the praises of his infinite Benefactor
here below, and finally attain his glory in the upper world. How great
the blessing itself? How gracious, how glorious the design of God in
bestowing it? The remembrance of this must necessarily have a tendency
to holiness, in every heart that is in the least acquainted with it.

The mercies of God in general,
and more particularly that special mercy manifested in the free pardon
of all their sins, and the everlasting justification of their persons,
constitute the noblest attractive of the heart:* An attractive of
sovereign efficacy, to draw forth all the powers of their souls, in a
way of cheerful obedience to the ever-merciful God. That forgiveness
which is with our Sovereign, and the manifestation of it; far from
being an incentive to vice, causes them to fear and reverence, to love
and adore him. The state of believers, as not being under the law,
is considered and improved to the same excellent purpose. Sin
shall not have dominion over you. On what is this positive assertion
grounded? Is it because they are bound to obedience, on pain of
incurring the curse of a righteous law? Or, on the dreadful peril of
suffering eternal ruin! Far from it. The reason assigned, which ought
ever to be remembered, is, For ye are not under the law, but under
grace? Here grace is described as having dominion. Here grace
reigns. This consideration the apostle applies, as a powerful motive to
holy obedience.

The filial relation in which
believers stand to God, and their hope of life eternal, constitute
another motive to answer the same important end. (Eph. 5:1. Phil 2:15)
The inspired writers frequently take notice of that sublime relation, to
remind them of the dignity and privileges attending it, and to promote a
suitable conduct. And, surely, the children of God should act from
nobler principles, and have more elevated views, than the slaves of
sensuality and the servants of sin. A consideration of their heavenly
birth, their honourable character and infinite inheritance, must animate
them to walk as becomes the citizens of the New Jerusalem, and the
expectants of an eternal crown. The indwelling of the Holy
Spirit, together with the safety and comfort of believers, which in
various respects arise from it; are considered and urged for their
advancement in holiness. (I Cor 3:16, 17. Eph. 4:30) For the absolute
necessity of his abiding presence with the people of God, is no small
inducement not to grieve the sacred inhabitant, by a loose and careless
conversation.

The promises, which are all
yea and amen in Christ Jesus, those exceeding great and precious
promises, which relate both to this world and that which is to
comes, are improved as a further motive, to induce the children of God
to press forward after all holiness of heart and life. (2 Pet. 1:4. 2
Cor 7:1) The apostle Peter, as before observed, considering their
tendency and design, scruples not to affirm, that it is by them,
by their influence on the soul, that we are made partakers of a
divine nature. (Psalm 139:30-32) These glorious promises are great
as the heart of man can conceive; great as Jehovah himself can make.

The consideration of those
chastisements with which the Lord, as a father, corrects his children,
when remiss in their duty and negligent in the practice of good works,
is another motive to stir them up to follow after holiness, and to make
them watchful against the incursions of temptation. (Psalm 139:30-32) I
said, with which the Lord as a father chastises; not punishes.
For it is the property and business of a tender father to correct his
children, when disobedient; but of a Judge and of an executioner, to
pronounce a person worthy of punishment and to inflict it, which, in the
proper sense of punishment, makes no part of the Divine conduct
toward the heirs of glory. When their heavenly Father chastises them, it
is not merely to demonstrate his own sovereignty, but to correct for
faults committed; and that not in wrath, but in love. Yea, he does it
because he loves them, in order to make them partakers of his
holiness, and that they may not be condemned with the world. (Heb.
12:5-11. I Cor. 11:32) This being the design of God in chastising his
people, and the severest chastisements being a fruit of his paternal
care; though the means be grievous, yet they are salutary, and the end
is glorious. Correct them he will, but not disinherit them. He will make
them smart for their folly, but he will not abandon them to ruin.
According to that declaration; If his children forsake my law, and
walk not in my judgments; if they break my statutes, and keep not my
commandments, then will I visit their transgressions with a rod, and
their iniquities with stripes. Nevertheless, my loving kindness will I
not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.
(Psalm 139:30-33) As the Lord corrects his children when disobedient; so
he reveals more of his love to them when they walk steadily in the paths
of duty. Such as maintain the closest communion with him, and most
punctually obey his commands, have reason to expect richer
manifestations of his love; to live more under the smiles of his
countenance; and, consequently, to be more joyful in their pilgrimage
here on earth, having larger foretastes of future glory. While those of
his people that backslide more frequently, and are not so careful to
perform his will, come oftener under his correcting hand, and their
comfortable communion with him is more interrupted.

This motive, it must be confessed, is
of a less generous kind than those before mentioned. Notwithstanding, in
the present imperfect state, it has its use. Nor is it destitute of holy
love. For though the redeemed of the Lord fear the frowns of their
Father's face, and the lashes of his correcting rod; yet they do not
live under the slavish apprehensions of eternal wrath, nor are they kept
in the way of duty by the tormenting fears of that awful punishment.
Though they may justly expect more copious manifestations of their
Father's love, when they walk in obedience to him; yet they do not obey
to obtain life, or to gain a right of inheritance. No, they are already
heirs. They are not only servants, but sons; and are possessed of a
filial affection for him who has begotten them to a lively hope. Though
the motive therefore be not so free, and pure, and noble as those before
mentioned, which are taken from blessings already conferred; yet it
savours of love to God, and has a regard to his glory. The obedience
performed under its influence, is of a different kind from all the
duties of the most zealous moralist, that is unacquainted with salvation
by grace. It must, however, be granted, that the more pure our views are
of the glory of God, the more perfect is our obedience, and the more
acceptable in the sight of our heavenly Father. Yet, far be it that we
should indulge the thought of our duties, when performed to the utmost
of our ability, being accepted of God for their own sake! The
accept-anew with which they meet at the hand of God. is not because they
are perfect, or we worthy; but in consequence of our union with Christ,
and the justification of our persons in him. These duties, being the
fruits of holiness, are produced in virtue of our union with him; are
considered as evidences of that union; and accepted through him, as our
great High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary ? Accepted, not to the
justification of our persons, but as a testimony of our love and
gratitude, and of our concern for the glory of God.

That these are all the motives
to obedience, with which the Scriptures furnish believers, and which
they are bound to keep in their view, I am far from supposing; but they,
I conceive, are some of the principal. If, therefore, these have their
proper influence upon them, they will be
neither idle, nor unfruitful, in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is evident, from the foregoing
paragraphs, that sanctification is an important part of that salvation
and blessedness, which are promised to the people of God, and provided
for them. Let the reader, therefore, be careful to look upon it, and
seek after it, under its true character. Be diligent in the pursuit of
holiness, not as the condition of your justification; but as the
brightest ornament of a rational nature, as the image of the blessed
God, and as that by which you bring the highest honour to his name. In
this the perfection of your intellectual powers consists, and
everlasting glory is its genuine result. The children of God should
always remember, that though holiness and good works give them no title
to life; for that is the prerogative royal of Divine grace, through the
Mediator's work; yet a higher, and still higher degree of holiness is to
be sought with all assiduity. It being their proper business, as well as
their great blessing, while they walk in Christ the Way, to evidence, by
holiness and good works, that they are in him, and so free from all
condemnation.

It also appears, that as no obedience
is acceptable to God, except it proceed from a principle of love to his
name, and be performed with a view to his glory; and as no man is
possessed of that heavenly principle, or capable of acting for that
exalted end, but the role believer, or the justified person: so it must
be very preposterous, and entirely unavailing, to exhort sinners to do
this or the other good work, in order to gain an interest in Christ; or
as preparatory to justification by him. For an interest in Christ is not
acquired by the sinner, but freely bestowed of God; and is a primary
fruit of eternal, distinguishing love. Nor are the best works of an
unbeliever, any other than splendid faults; neither spiritually good in
themselves, nor acceptable to Him that searches the heart. Till we
receive the atonement which is by Christ, and that forgiveness which is
with Jehovah, all our duties arise from a slavish principle, and are
directed to a selfish end. Without this, all that you do," says Dr.
OWEN, however it may please your minds, or ease your consciences, is not
at all accepted with God. ? You run, it may be, earnestly; but you run
out of the way; you strive, but not lawfully, and shall never receive
the crown. True gospel obedience is the fruit of the faith of
forgiveness. Whatever you do without it, is but a building without a
foundation; a castle in the air. You may see the order of gospel
obedience, Eph. ii. 7-10. The foundation must be laid in grace; riches
of grace by Christ, in the free pardon and forgiveness of sin. From
hence must the works of obedience proceed, if you would have them to be
of God's appointment, or find acceptance with him." (Psalm 130)

Hence it is evident, that as it is the
gospel of reigning grace, under the agency of the Divine Spirit, which
produces true holiness in the heart, and furnishes the Christian with
such excellent motives to abound in obedience; this glorious truth is
absolutely necessary to reform the world ? necessary to be known,
experimentally known, that we may please God, or answer any valuable
purposes in a holy conversation. For the gospel only can furnish us with
such principles and motives to obedience, as will cause us to take
delight in it. When we know the troth as it is in Jesus, then, and not
till then, the ways of wisdom will be ways of pleasantness. Then
faith will work by love to God and our neighbour.

Be it your concern, believer, to keep
in view the many inducements to holiness, with which the book of God
abounds and urges upon you. Always considering it as your indispensable
duty and proper business, to glorify God by an holy, heavenly, useful
conversation. Remember, you are not your own: you are bought with a
price: your whole person is the Lord's. As nothing is a more
powerful persuasive to holiness, than a consideration of the love of
Christ and the glory of God, that are manifested in the atonement made
on the cross; let that be the subject of your frequent meditation. For
the cross, and the work finished upon it, exhibit the brightest view of
the Divine perfections. Endeavour, then, to obtain clearer views of
Jehovah's glory, and of your reconciliation to him by Jesus Christ; and
you will have a greater abhorrence of all sin, and be more abased in
your own eyes. Contemplate the bitter sufferings which Jesus underwent,
not only for your good, but in your stead; and you will be pained at the
heart on account of your past transgressions and present corruptions.
(Zech. 12:10) The more you become acquainted with that Divine
philanthropy which was manifested in the redemption of your soul from
the pit of destruction; the more will it constrain you to love, to
adore, and to glorify the Lord Redeemer. (2 Cor. 5:14) For as the love
of God, manifested in Christ, proclaimed in the gospel, and experienced
by faith, is that which first fixes our affections on him; so the more
we view it, the more will our love be heightened. And as love to God is
the only principle of true obedience, the more it is heightened, the
more will it influence our minds and conduct in all respects. Thus
grace, that very grace which provided, reveals, and applies the
blessings of salvation, is the master who teaches, is the motive which
induces, and the sovereign which sweetly constrains a believer to deny
himself, and to walk in the ways of holiness. (Tit. 2:11, 12)